Peter Visclosky: “Given the time limitation, I would address the issue of furloughs that the gentleman makes. Furloughs are a result of…”

“Given the time limitation, I would address the issue of furloughs that the gentleman makes. Furloughs are a result of the Budget Control Act that was passed in 2011. It's the result of sequestration that occurred because of the adoption of that law. The gentleman who has offered the amendment voted for that act that has caused sequestration to occur and now is causing furloughs to take place. I would point out that I think it is patently wrong to carve out any class of Federal civilian employees to the detriment of others. I mentioned in my opening statement that I thought it was wrong that for the 4th year in a row we are not providing a pay raise for any Federal civilian employee at the Department of Defense, which essentially represents a revenue loss to those employees working for the people of this country of $437 million. So it is not a lack of sympathy for those who are losing a portion of that paycheck over and above that pay increase for the last 4 years that is the cause of my concern, but I would point out to all of my colleagues that other government agencies have also decided to use furloughs. And as the gentleman rightly pointed out, he doesn't solve all of those problems. They include the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Justice, the Office of Management and Budget.…”